Drinking Around the World Showcase at Disney’s Epcot

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Disney, Florida, Food & Drinks, North America, Orlando, United States

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Disney, Disney World, Epcot, Florida, North America, Orlando, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, United States, World Showcase

Before our selfish year trip, Disney’s Epcot was definitely our favorite Disney park. Now, it’s a tossup between Epcot and DisneySea in Tokyo for me. I need to visit DisneySea a few times to make that decision considering that we’ve been to Epcot probably dozens of times.

When we visited Orlando recently, we decided to stop by Epcot for old time’s sake. We love Epcot mostly due to the World Showcase, which is a permanent world’s fair containing 11 pavilions each representing a different country. The pavilions are all around a man-made lake that has a perimeter of 1.2 miles.

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The Selfish’s Cross-Country Drive

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Cross Country, Food & Drinks, North America, United States

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Arlington, Chicago, Cross Country Drive, Lake Tahoe, Mount Rushmore, North America, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sioux Falls, United States, Willingboro, Yellowstone

Mr. Selfish and I are almost done with our selfish year. We begin our cross-country drive from Richmond, VA to San Francisco in less than a week.

Here’s our itinerary: (1) Richmond, VA, (2) Arlington, VA, (3) Willingboro, NJ, (4) Pittsburgh, PA, (5) Chicago, IL, (6) Sioux Falls, SD, (7) Mount Rushmore, (8) Yellowstone, (9) Salt Lake City, UT, (10), Lake Tahoe, and (11) SF.

We are definitely looking forward to the following:

Do you have any recommendations for us? We would greatly appreciate food recs or pointers on random tourist attractions we should see on the way!

It’s a Helluva Town: Heading to NYC

27 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by misterselfish in North America, United States

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Book of Mormon, Broadway, Coney Island, Nathan's, New York City, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sights, Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty

Mrs. Selfish and I decided to end our Selfish Year of flights with a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. While Los Angeles was spent recovering from jetlag and hanging out with my sister, and San Francisco was spent visiting family, we spent a large amount of time in New York seeing different parts of the city.

Having been to New York on numerous occasions, this time we decided to visit the Financial District, Coney Island, and Staten Island in addition to Central Park and Broadway.

Wandering around Manhattan

I love Manhattan. There’s probably no better place on Earth to grab a fresh bagel, take a stroll in the park, catch a show, and grab cheap happy hour drinks.

While we normally stick to Broadway & Central Park, this time we branched out and hit the Financial District, which was more than a little eerie with all the post 9-11 construction. It was still quite beautiful, however.

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New York City: So Many Places to Eat, So Little Time

26 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Food & Drinks, New York City, North America, United States

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72nd Street Bagel, Casa Adela, Food & Drinks, Go Go Curry, Go!Go! Curry!, Katz's Deli, Momofuku, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Motorino, New York, New York City, North America, Russ & Daughters, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, United States, Wafels and Dinges

Mr. Selfish and I love New York City. We have considered living there but I don’t think I would like the winters too much. We therefore included NYC as our final stop before heading to my parents’ in Virginia. Not only do we have some great friends that live in the city, but we love the cheap, plentiful, and delicious food. Here are some of our favorite eats during this last stop.

Russ & Daughters: Infamous Lox Bagels

Although Mr. Selfish never really cared much for lox bagels, I have enjoyed them in the past. When our friends recommended Russ & Daughters (179 E Houston St NY , NY 10002) for lox bagels, we figured we would give it a try.

We were astonished at the amount of choices you had for a single lox bagel, but we ordered an everything bagel with regular cream cheese, the Irish salmon, and red onions. As the man at the counter was handing us the bagel, he told us, “You’ll love it.” And indeed, we did. It was mind-blowingly delicious!

72nd Street Bagel: Cinnamon Raisin Rampage

Although the lox bagel from Russ & Daughters was mighty delicious, Mr. Selfish still wanted a regular bagel while we were in the city. We tried a cinnamon raisin with regular cream cheese at 72nd Street Bagel (130 W 72nd St, NY, NY 10023).

It didn’t disappoint. Mr. Selfish gobbled up that thing so fast that it was gone in a matter of seconds.
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The Final Park: Disneyland

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Disney, Food & Drinks, Los Angeles, North America, United States

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Cafe Orleans, Disney, Disneyland, Food & Drinks, Los Angeles, North America, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, United States

Mr. Selfish and I finished our Disney tour with the first ever Disney park – Disneyland in California. It opened in 1955 and is the only park designed and built under the direction of Walt Disney. It is the second most visited park in the world with 16 million visitors in 2011 (Orlando’s Magic Kingdom has the highest attendance).

I was quite surprised as to how small Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is. It is tiny compared to all of the other Disney castles around the world, but I guess it was the first one. It is nevertheless quite photogenic, just like all of the other castles.

Mr. Selfish had previously visited Disneyland but I had never been. I therefore had a list of rides that I wanted to try that aren’t at the other parks, including the Matterhorn, Mr. Toad’s, and Indiana Jones.

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Feeling Adventurous at Disney’s California Adventure

24 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Disney, Los Angeles, North America, United States

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California Adventure, Disney, Disney California Adventure, Los Angeles, North America, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years, United States

Mr. Selfish and I were excited for the last of the Disney parks around the world. We both had never been to Disney’s California Adventure before and were not too sure what to expect. California Adventure opened in 2001 to negative reviews and has never hit targeted attendance levels. However, we had heard great things about Cars Land, which opened in June 2012. In 2012, the park had 7.78 million guests making it the 11th most visited park in the world.

Cars Land: Running for Radiator Springs Racers

We arrived at the park fairly early and headed straight for Cars Land. Mr. Selfish and I were quite impressed with the theming of Cars Land. It was straight out of the Cars movie.

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LA’s Lip-Smacking Cheap Eats

23 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Los Angeles, North America, United States

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Cheap Eats, Churros Calientes, LA, Los Angeles, Roscoes House of Chicken and Waffles, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Taqueria El Charrito, Umami Burger

After spending 2 months in Australia and New Zealand, Mrs. Selfish and I were ready for some good ol’ American cheap eats. Something that would satisfy our lust for tasty food without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately, while America specializes in cheap meals ($.99 menu, ahoy!), finding a cheap good meal can be a challenge. Fortunately we once again had access to Yelp, as well as my sister’s local tips.

Chowing Down on Chicken n’ Waffles

Our first stop in America was Roscoe’s Chicken N’ Waffles, LA’s premiere chicken and waffles location. If you haven’t yet experienced chicken and waffles, then you haven’t lived. Not the slightest bit healthy, there is something magical about crispy, savory fried chicken on sweet waffles.

Mrs. Selfish and I split a half chicken with waffles cooked southern style ($16.10 USD), and ordered a side of Mac and Cheese (~$6), another dish that’s pretty difficult to find outside of the States.

The chicken and waffles were amazingly crispy, and every bit as decadent as I remembered. My only complaint was that I hadn’t ordered it with gravy AND syrup, a total rookie error on my part.

The Mac and Cheese, on the other hand, was probably the best restaurant Mac ‘n’ Cheese I’ve ever had: creamy, smooth, delicious – it definitely hit the spot.

VERDICT: Buy it. Try it. Love it.

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Finally Back in the States: Wandering Around LA

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Los Angeles, North America, United States

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LA Sights, Los Angeles, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Mrs. Selfish and I touched down back in the ol’ US-of-A three weeks ago in sunny Los Angeles. A massive departure from the tiny hamlet of Queenstown, we were immediately overwhelmed by American English and the shear diversity of the States.

With 19 hours of jetlag between our bodies and sunny California, Mrs. Selfish and I co-opted my sister’s car and hit the mean streets of LA.

Hollywood and the TCL Chinese Theater

Our first stop was Hollywood’s iconic Chinese Theater. Built in 1927, the theater has a regal, exotic feel, which is only slightly diminished by the tourist shops and people dressed in costume. Still, it’s an excellent place to people watch!

From the excellently decorated mall next door we even managed to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood sign.

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Flashback Friday – Snowing in Seattle

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Flashback, North America, Seattle, Washington

In 2008, Mr. Selfish and I went to Seattle. I had heard many wonderful things about Seattle, so we wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, we went during the month of March. Despite the fact that Mr. Selfish told me that it never snows in Seattle, it was very cold and indeed snowing.

The snow didn’t stop us from enjoying Seattle though. We went to the Space Needle to enjoy the views. There was of course a coffee shop at the top.

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Flashback Friday – Charming Chicago

28 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Chicago, Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Deep Dish Pizza, Ethiopian Food, Flashback, Friday, Geno's, Illinois, Lincoln Park Zoo, Millenium Park, North America, Wieners Circle

In May 2008, Mr. Selfish and I visited our good friend Becca in Chicago. Becca had been raving about Chicago, and we decided to take her up on her offer to let us crash at her apartment. This was my first trip to Chi-Town, and I found it to be quite charming.

First, we went to Millenium Park, which actually was opened in 2004 (only four years behind schedule). I love taking pictures in front of the Cloud Gate, which is better known as the “Bean.” Also, Crown Fountain is nice because it’s fun to watch all the kids splashing around in the water and their parents trying not to get wet.

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Flashback Friday – Our Orange Tree in Florida

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, Food & Drinks, North America

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Flashback, Florida, Orange Juice, Orange Tree, Oranges, Orlando, Winter Park

Prior to leaving on our selfish year, Mr. Selfish and I moved out of house in Winter Park, Florida and rented it for a year. We had an orange tree in the backyard that would produce dozens of oranges during November and December. We would harvest the oranges and make delicious, sweet orange juice every year.

Unfortunately, we just heard word that our orange tree has died and needs to be taken down. We loved that orange tree, and it was one of the things I really missed about having a home in Florida – fresh orange juice. This flashback post is dedicated to our orange tree.

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Flashback Friday – Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Flashback, Florida, Mermaids, Weeki Wachee Springs

In July 2011, Mr. Selfish and I took a mini-road trip to Weeki Wachee Springs. It is a little water park built on a natural spring. The main attraction is the mermaid show, which is in a theatre that is also built into the spring. Weeki Wachee Springs is old Florida at its finest. It is campy and full of family fun. We enjoyed it immensely.

We greatly enjoyed the water park itself, because you get to swim and slide into the spring. There are huge water slides and a little area around which you can tube. The water is a cool 74.2 degrees year-round.

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Flashback Friday – Miami!

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Florida, Miami, North America, South Beach, United States of America, USA

Mr. Selfish and I lived in Florida for over eight years. We went to Miami twice during that time. During our first trip, it was August and crazy hot. As a result, our second trip was during February. Not only is the beach not crowded but I find it much more tranquil in cooler weather. I don’t have to swim in the beach to enjoy it.

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Flashback Friday – A Quick Trip to Pittsburgh

02 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Carnegie Museums of Art & Natural History, Cathedral of Learning, Flashback, Pamela's, Pittsburgh, Primanti Brothers, Spice Island Tea House

In May 2011, Mr. Selfish and I took a quick trip to Pittsburgh for his sister’s graduation. Mr. Selfish attended Carnegie Mellon for his Master’s but he never really did the touristy things while there. We took care of that in a short weekend trip.

First, we walked around downtown and went into the Cathedral of Learning. It was built in the Late Gothic Revival style. Also, at 42 stories, it is the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere.

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Flashback Friday – Ruins and Scuba Diving in Cancun

12 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Flashback, North America

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Cancun, Chichen Itza, Drift Diving, Ek Balam, Mexico

In May 2012, Mr. Selfish and I took a trip to Cancun, Mexico. Through a Groupon deal, we stayed at an all-inclusive resort for three nights. This was mine and Mr. Selfish’s first trip to Mexico. We therefore crammed in as many ruins as possible and a scuba diving trip.

First, we went to Chichen Itza, the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. Although you can no longer climb up the pyramid, it was still a sight to behold.